Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Smithson highlights new things at GSD

There are 13 new staff members among the ranks in the Gurdon School District this year, according to Superintendent Bobby Smithson.

Smithson was the speaker at the Gurdon Rotary Clubs meeting on Thursday, Aug. 16. Thats a large turnover for us, he said of the new employees.

Although the district lost several good teachers, he said he is very happy with the new hires. Two of the new hires are a math and literacy coach that will help the district raise test scores in those areas.

If youre going to survive in this business, youve got to meet the requirements, he said.

The district is striving to meet goals set forth by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation that requires every child in America to be on the proficient level by the year 2012.

Its not going to happen, Smithson said.

Smithson said the district has completed the addition of five new classrooms at Gurdon Primary School. The classrooms cost $100,000 each.

Its unreal, he said of the cost.

The cost of the classrooms were underwritten by the state.

Kindergarten classes are housed in the new classrooms and the pre-kindergarten program has been moved into the old kindergarten rooms. Smithson said the pre-kindergarten program is growing with five students on the waiting list currently.

Smithson said the pre-kindergarten program is an excellent addition to the school as students who have completed the program get a head start on the learning process.

The sooner we can get them, the better its going to be, he said.

One of the unique features of the Gurdon pre-kindergarten program is that it is made available free of charge, Smithson said.

When asked about enrollment outlooks for the coming school year, Smithson said he expects the district to be up some. The district has been losing students for the past several years. There were 855 students enrolled in the Gurdon School District last year, he said.